An Unkindness of Ravens

in #homesteading5 years ago

It's been another age since I posted anything. I go out and take pictures, but when I look at them later I can't seem to find a narrative to go along with them, so there they sit. I am still trying to rest my leg, which makes my days much more sedentary than usual. It's still raining off and on, which makes for some pretty skies between storms.

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The little sun breaks make magic on the trees, even when the rest of the sky looks ominous.

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Here's a shot of pond scum as art. It's not really pond scum, but from a distance that's what it looks like.

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I thought the swirly pattern was pretty cool. It's not actually on a pond, but a slough, and when the water moves with the tide, it pulls these tiny plants around. There were tiny black bugs darting on the surface, but even zoomed in as far as I could, and with my phone as close to the water as possible without me falling in, I didn't manage to capture one of them. I did get a nice reflection of the clouds in the water, though.

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The goats have eaten about all they can reach and need to be moved. Since I am trying to be kind to my leg, I've just been feeding them every day. But with the rain and the lack of yummy things to browse on, they have been very bored. Yesterday when I showed up to feed them, I discovered that their fence had come down and they were all missing. I wasn't too worried because I know the property really well by now and there's nowhere they can really go. When they heard me shut the car door and call them, they all came trotting out of the barn. Well, almost all of them. The first thing I do when I get there every day is count them. If anyone is missing, I have a medium to serious panic attack until the errant goat is located. Yesterday I counted nine goats when there should be ten. Jeckle was missing. I got the goats back where they belong by giving them grain, and put their fence back up while they were eating. Then I heard the panicked yell from the depths of the barn. I opened the door and there was little Jeckle, wandering around the huge barn all by himself, wondering where all his friends had gone. When he saw me he came running, and he was reunited with the herd.

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It was nice and dry today, so against my better judgement and the orders of my doctor, I clipped some berry vines and pulled them down where the goats could reach them. My doctor tells me I should avoid uneven ground. Ha. The guys were very excited to have some snacks they didn't have to work for, and I am now resting with my leg occasionally elevated, so I guess everybody is happy. Except Screech, who is very upset that my visits have been so short lately.

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They got hay and grain today in addition to the vines I pulled, so hopefully they will be happy until I can get them moved.

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I will close with a few shots of a spider I've been watching for several days. She has camped on the back patio, and I watched her build her original web. She caught a bee yesterday, and the interior of the web was destroyed when she removed it. Today she was rebuilding, and I got up close and watched her. If I knew how to post videos, I would have taken one. It is an amazing thing to watch a spider weave. They are incredible engineers.

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I wish I could do anything as well as she can do this!

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I checked on her progress when I got home, and she had finished it but something had already broken a hole in it. She doesn't seem concerned, though. She's just patiently waiting for dinner.

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As I was writing this post, I could hear ravens yelling in the skies and had to go see what they were up to. They were up pretty high and weren't paying any attention to what's going on down here on the farm, but the chickens seemed a little nervous. My title is the official name for a flock of ravens, and I think it's beautiful even if a tiny bit unfair to them. Have a great weekend, everyone!

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i was wondering what happened to you
what happened to your leg
i must have missed a post or two of yours since i dont recall you hurt your leg at all
have a great day and enjoyed your post and pics as usual

I tore a muscle. It's been such a pain in the butt. Or leg, more accurately. It's getting better, but slowly. Have a great day yourself!

I hate spiders but yes, is very interesting to see them doing their thing!

I used to hate spiders, but then I got all these animals that poop all the time, and with poop comes flies, so the spiders are revered creatures now. I don't want them crawling around in my ears or anything, but they are more than welcome to eat all the flies they can catch!

I let them be, they eat roaches! 😀

The group goat picture is a beaut. The spiders and their white silk webs are gems too. :-)

my goodness your photos are so good! What an eye. What happened to your leg?

Thank you! Nature does all the heavy lifting. I just get lucky once in a while and capture it.

I tore a muscle in my leg. It's been a bit of a hassle, but it's getting better.

Pond scum swirl is a pretty thing. The best shape out there is a spiral. Ravens or crows, or whatever of that variety always seem to have a world of their own. That was probably a presidential election you just walked in on. You know those never happen quietly.

That's very possible! I can imagine that bird politics would be loud and messy. Lots of pooping on statues and that sort of thing.

I agree about the spiral shape thing. I love when I find them in nature.

Lol! Definitely pooping on statues.

Hi @goat-girlz,

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A nice mix of pictures. Take it easy on the leg. 😊

Thank you! I'm taking it easy-ish.

I do think its an unfair collective noun. Ravens are beautiful.

What happened to your leg? Sorry to miss that news... Hope you are okay?

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I tore a muscle in my leg and I am supposed to rest and elevate it. That part is not easy so it's taking forever to heal. It's okay but very annoying.

You posted my spiders cousin! And you know I am envious of your Ravens! Take care of yourself, please!

I love my spiders and I'm always glad to see other people post pictures of them! You don't have ravens? How is that possible? You have all the cool birds! I will try to take it as easy as possible, but bed rest is something I can't do no matter how good it might sound. I am not in charge of my life; the goats are!

The Ravens range stops about 200 miles north of here. I really really wish I could talk them into coming down to visit! Did you go enter one of your spiders into the contest? You've got some great pictures there.

You would think the ravens would come down just to say hi. It's the polite thing to do. I did enter a spider in the contest, but I shot these after I had already posted one. Your spider better be a winner!

I'm pretty sure that you can enter two photos!

I'm in awe of those spider photos. Mine never turn out that well.
And it sounds like you ARE taking good care of yourself and that leg, to the extent that the goats will let you -- fence mending, counting heads, tricking them back into the barn with food, finding the Lost One.

What's this silliness about lacking a narrative?

You certainly provided one here, with an assortment of photos from pond scum as art to Jeckyl all alone in a big barn to spiders and .... not a murder of crows, but an unkindness of ravens.
You're a born writer.
It's because you don't have to work at it that you imagine you're not really writing. You just tell us about your day, and in the process, your words spin out and come together with the precision and beauty of a spider web. And I do love spider webs.
Thank you for sharing the images and the words! If ever you worry you're just wasting your time, I'll counter that with "Well, @carolkean is just a big old waste of time, eh?"
I love all your posts!

A beautiful collection of photos as always!
That top one looks like the cloud is about to kick that ball of a tree!
Wonderful spider pictures! I love watching spiders.

Thank you! That's pretty funny about the cloud. I will always see it that way now.
I love watching spiders too. They are little magicians.